This invention relates to the monitoring of cuts of meat which are removed from carcasses in meat packing plants.
In this specification, the term xe2x80x9ccutxe2x80x9d when used as a noun refers to a portion of a carcass which results from the dismemberment thereof into two or more parts.
The invention also relates to measuring various characteristics of the cuts of meat including their lengths, widths and weights. The cuts removed from carcasses, even cuts of the same type (such as loins, french racks etc) removed from animals of the same species, inevitably vary in size and weight from one cut to the next.
The practice of selling carcasses (or perhaps forequarters and hindquarters) which have been cleaned but otherwise unimproved has been replaced in many meat packing plants in favour of a practice in which value is added to the products processed and typically comprises dismembering the carcasses into finished cuts which are packaged so that, when they leave the meat packing plant, they are ready for sale to the end user.
The applicant has devised machines which are located in the production line and which produce packages (usually bags) in which the finished cuts of meat are packaged. Each bag is produced as it is needed and its length can be selected by the operator to match the length of the cut which is to be packaged in that bag. Significant savings in the costs of packaging are being achieved in the commercial use of the machines. Examples of such machines are described in the applicant""s international patent applications #PCT/EP92/01624 and PCT/NZ94/00024.
Despite these advances there is a need for greater efficiency in many meat packing plants. It is known for example that productivity is often adversely affected by poor trimming practices; i.e. saleable meat is often removed when the cuts are trimmed after they have been removed from the carcasses at the boning stations. One means which would be of assistance in identifying such wastage would be to compare the sum the weights of the cuts taken from each carcass with the weight of the carcass. Such information would also enable operators to have better knowledge of the quality of the animals which they have purchased for processing and to be more selective about the suppliers of their animals. The information would also enable farmers to improve breeding and feeding practices. Furthermore, a more detailed description of the contents of each package of meat could be provided.
However, the applicant has found that keeping track of the identity of the cuts after they leave the trimming tables is no easy matter in the operating environment of a meat packing plant.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of carrying out a meat packing process in which carcasses of animals which have been slaughtered are moved in order past a plurality of work stations at each of which cuts of preselected type are removed from the carcasses and transferred to a conveyor means arranged to move past the work stations and to carry cuts which are transferred to the conveyor means at the work stations to a remote locality, the method including the steps of transferring the cuts removed from the carcasses at each work station to the conveyor means in the order in which such cuts are so removed, and providing means for identifying each position on the conveyor means to which cuts are transferred attach work station, and for identifying each such position when such position has moved to the remote locality.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for use in a meat processing operation in which carcasses of animals which have been slaughtered are moved in order past a plurality of work stations at each of which cuts of preselected type are removed from the carcasses and transferred to a conveyor means arranged to move past the work stations and to carry cuts which are transferred to the conveyor means at the work stations to a remote locality and in which process the cuts removed from the carcasses at each work station are transferred to the conveyor means in the order in which such cuts are so removed, the apparatus including means for identifying each position on the conveyor means to which cuts are transferred at each work station, and means for identifying each such position when such position has moved to the remote locality.
In one form of the invention means is provided for identifying each carcass which is moved past the work stations with the animal from which such carcass was derived.
Advantageously, at each work station the cuts are trimmed after being removed from the carcasses and before being transferred to the conveyor means.
According to various further aspects of the invention means are provided for.
weighing each cut;
determining the sum of the weights of the cuts removed from each carcass;
weighing each cut before it has been trimmed and after it has been trimmed;
measuring the length of each cut, for producing packages for packaging the cuts at the remote location, and for causing the package producing means to vary the length of each package to suit the length of the cut to be packaged therein;
measuring the width of said each cut and for causing the package producing means to produce a package whose width is suited to the width of the cut to be packaged therein;
applying to each package information for identifying the time at which the cut or cuts was or were packaged therein; and
applying to each package information for identifying the weight of the cut or cuts contained therein.
In meat packing plants, the provision of means which enables each cut to be identified with the carcass from which the cut was removed is of substantial significance. In the first place, by collating the weights of all trimmed cuts removed from a carcass, the operator of the plant can establish the actual yield of a carcass, i.e. the total saleable weight of all cuts removed from that carcass as compared to the original weight of the carcass. From this the operator is able to determine whether his workers are working efficiently. Furthermore, because it is also possible to establish a history of the weights of cuts of a particular type as a proportion of the weights of the carcasses from which they were removed, the operator can also determine whether a particular worker (i.e. the worker who is responsible for removing the particular cuts in question) is working efficiently.
Additionally, provided the source of each carcass is known, the operator can also determine which farmer is supplying the animals with the best yield. Moreover the farmers will be able to use the information to improve the quality of their stock, for example by better breeding and feeding.